Get Rid of the Pigeon in YOU!!

31 st July, 9.15 pm, with all puffed up motivation, dragged myself to my laptop. There was something I needed to finish which had finally reached its last day. With few hours left for deadline, I realized my internet isn’t working. Within seconds, I started cursing net provider, the government, the world, the universe asking why this happens to me all the time. Things just don’t work when I need it the most. Finally, “Restarting” of my modem helped and restored the internet. Few more struggles like crawling net speed, website down, delayed server responses and many more chipped away few more hours. Conquering all the challenges, I managed to accomplish my task just few minutes before the deadline.

Phew !! I wiped my sweat and said, “I am finally done!” I had finally filed my tax return and felt relieved. After that, I made an unbreakable “?Promise?“ to myself that I will not repeat it again next year.

After some time, I asked myself why I delayed finishing the task so much. Immediately, my mind presented me with an excuses list, too busy at work, heavy workload & many more. I started to ponder if truly my busy work life was the reason for this.

Introspecting a tad more, my memories took me down to my college days, instead of writing the answer paper, I used to observe unpainted wall, invigilator’s dress, outside view from the window, and many more hidden treasures. Why? Because I always delayed my studies. After finishing every paper, I made an unbreakable “?Promise?“ to myself that I will not repeat it again next year.

However, every year my unbreakable “?Promise?“ kept breaking and I landed up in the same place. I am sure many of us do the last-minute rush with similar excuses and make promises for next time. Why? In my case, it wasn’t the office or college or any other worldly excuse, instead I realized I was a Procrastinator.

What is procrastination?

It is delaying or slowing or postponing tasks which ordinarily should have been completed. For example, delaying studies and instead watching YouTube or TV or social media or games. Indulging in unproductive tasks, conversation, roaming around, etc over finishing office work.

Procrastination is very common. Scientists have experimented and found even?Pigeons?procrastinate just like humans. There is much scientific evidence on Procrastination like Fantino’s, ‘Delay-reduction hypothesis’, Mazur, J. E ‘Procrastination by pigeons: preference for larger, more delayed work requirements’ etc. So,in other words we all have Pigeons within us.

What Makes us Procrastinate?

• Instant gratification: Performing lesser important tasks to satisfy instant gratification
• Task aversion: Postponing boring, unwanted, laborious tasks
• Fear of failure: Refusing to act due to the fear of failure.
• Perfect to a T: Waiting for all components to be just perfect to even start
• Self-esteem: Low self-esteem & self-doubts

Procrastination can become a habit, if not put in check. It can cause stress, anxiety, frustration, emotional outbursts, lower productivity, poor motivation etc. However, we are not?Pigeons, we can overcome. We need to replace our unbreakable?“Promise”

7 ways to overcome Procrastination:

The procrastination can be dealt with simple change in our pattern of behavior. Remember?PROMISE:

P.R.O.M.I.S.E.

Pomodoro?: Francesco Cirillo in 1980 created a technique. In this technique, a timer is set for 25 mins, followed by 5 mins break. Work without any distractions for 25 mins and take a 5 mins break. Come back and start working for next 25 mins. It goes on until the day finishes with one 30 mins break in the middle. You may adjust timing, portions of work suiting your delivery demands. You may notice you have achieved a great deal at the end due to smaller work chunks & time bound actions.

Recognize and challenge:?You must recognise that you are a procrastinator. List down all the tasks which you are postponing and take them head on. Trick your brain to get rid of them as soon as possible. If the tasks are unfinished, it will pile up your guilt to cause unnecessary anxiety. However, if you are postponing due to a skill or training gap, speak up or seek help.

Organize your day?: Make a schedule for your day, week or even for a month. Depending on the nature of your job or study, break the day into 3 portions i.e., morning, afternoon & evening. Each session is broken down with a To Do list. Make sure you are ticking them after finishing. You feel motivated (psychologically) when you see growing ticks in your To-Do list.

Minimize distraction?: Try pausing all notifications of email, mobile phone, apps, etc. while working. This will help you take a break from all distractions and let you focus on your job at hand. Remember, everyone needs your attention in today’s world. E.g. through apps notifications your attention is stolen for Ads. That’s their task and they have accomplished it. But your work is unfinished due to frequent distractions. I personally follow a “Digital Fasting”, approx. 8 days in a month, where I don’t touch my mobile. This may differ for different people, but I have greatly benefited from it.

Intention:?Make sure your intention is clear. Its most important that you have the intention to finish the work in the first place. There is a colloquial saying, you can wake up a person who is sleeping but you can’t wake up anyone who is pretending to sleep. So, begin any work with the right intentions in place.

Small milestones-based goals?: Set a clear long & short-term goal. Divide them into smaller milestones. Add small tasks with timelines for each goal. Make a periodic review to assess the progress. Try to make SMART objectives.

Enjoy with rewards:?After building milestones, add rewards to each milestone. It sounds small, but it motivates us to move ahead.

In summary, with focus, continuous practice, procrastination habits can be corrected. Getting rid of this will certainly help improve productivity, reduce stress and many more such positive impact on us.